


The Devil Beside You

by Egotisticalfloof



Category: JackSepticEye (YouTube RPF), Markiplier (YouTube RPF), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Demonic Possession, F/M, Ghosts, M/M, Mental Health Issues Mentioned, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-12-05 05:27:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11571291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Egotisticalfloof/pseuds/Egotisticalfloof
Summary: Mark has to move, again, and this time the house he chooses is already occupied...but not by natural forces. When the two finally clash, Mark manages to come out on top, until Jack ends up getting involved. When things finally settle, the two are left with a major problem - how do they manage their demons?





	1. Moving Pains

**Author's Note:**

> ok ok so this is my first Youtuber fic and I'm a little nervous about posting it but I'm super into the idea I've come up with and I think it could be really interesting!

 

Moving to a new house was a stressful experience no matter how many times Mark had to do it. Though nothing was as hard as the move from Cincinnati to LA, having to uproot his entire base of operations and set everything up again could easily take its toll on him. Mark had borrowed Amy’s car for the occasion, and he had actually nearly filled it himself with all the electronics from his recording studio. Ethan and Tyler were en route to help him transport his belongings, but Mark had wanted to get all the important things packed safely before they started inevitably messing about and playing Tetris with the rest of his boxes. He really just wanted to get to the new house as quickly as possible, unpack as quickly as possible, and get back to a normal routine as quickly as possible.

As Ethan and Tyler arrived, Mark’s phone began to ring. Fishing it out of his pocket, he saw it was his mother, so he answered it quickly.

“Hey mum…yeah I’m getting everything packed…I’ll send you pictures when I get to the new place…thanks mum…yeah I’ll speak to you later.”

Tyler has backed the car up the drive while Mark had been speaking to her, and both he and Ethan were waiting by the open boot for Mark to finish.

“Hey guys.” He grinned, “Ready to move my life?”

“I’m not sure we’d have enough room for your life and your ego between the two cars.” Ethan teased.

Mark laughed loudly, leading them into the house and nodding to the boxes piled randomly in every room. “I’m dealing with the stuff in my studio, so if you guys could grab the rest of this, that’d be great.”

His friends nodded and moved to a separate pile of boxes to begin the slow back and forth march from car to house. Mark returned to his studio, empty of all his recording equipment and foam padding and sighed. He was definitely going to miss this space the most out of the entire house, but the other house he had found definitely held a promising recording space as well.

“I’m excited to see the new house.” Ethan was saying as Mark closed the door on his recording studio for the last time. “You couldn’t really see all that much from the pictures.”

His enthusiasm was infectious, and Mark felt instantly buoyed about the move. He was actually quite excited about the new house, buried somewhere deep under the pressure and stress born from the move. It was going to be a great space, and would provide them with all the locations they needed for a lot of the challenges and videos they liked to do. And there was a backyard for Chica, who was currently sitting in the passenger seat of Amy’s car patiently waiting for Mark, Ethan and Tyler to finish.

“I’m excited for you guys to see it too.” Mark agreed, slotting a heavy box against his hip for extra support as he struggled to the car. “I’ve not seen every room personally myself, the last occupants were still there and there were some rooms they didn’t want me to go into, but it looks great.”

The sky was threatening rain as they got close to loading the last of the boxes into the car. Mark wiped sweat from his brow and stretched his aching arms. The stress was one thing and easily dealt with when he settled into the new house, the exhaustion was something else.

“Are we taking one last look around?” Tyler asked, rolling his own shoulders to relieve some of the built tension from all the carrying.

Mark nodded. “Just to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything as well.”

They walked from room to room, Mark scouring high and low to make sure nothing had escaped his attention. Ethan and Tyler spent most of the time discussing their favourite memories of the house, and how excited they were to make more in Mark’s new house. By the time they had finished, Mark had found a solitary sock, and he was feeling a little forlorn.

Tyler put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve done this before Mark, it’s only a house.”

“I know.” Mark offered a small smile as he spoke, “I know I’m not leaving the memories behind, but it’s such a good house.”

“Well, you’ll just have to make the new one even better.” Tyler said comfortingly, “Come on, let’s go.”

Mark left last, locking the doors for the last time and nodding firmly to himself. This was just a new chapter in his life. Nothing had changed, he was just moving to a new space, and Tyler was right, this space was going to be so much better than the old one. Sliding into the driver’s seat, Mark rubbed Chica’s ears gently before starting the ignition and pulling away. He had to drop off the keys to the old first, so he led Ethan and Tyler on a bit of a detour through LA, but after a lot of back and forth along streets, they finally pulled up to the new house.

Somehow Tyler had gotten ahead of Mark during the drive, so they were standing waiting for him outside the house when he finally pulled into the drive. Ethan’s mouth was agape.

“This is you new house?” He exclaimed, “It’s huge!”

“It’s not that big.” Mark chuckled, “It just looks it from the outside.”

“It looks awesome.” Tyler commented.

“The inside is better.” Mark said.

Chica followed him to the door as he opened the car door for her, but seemed a little apprehensive to go any further. She whined when Mark tried to encourage her, making Mark frown.

“It’s just a new space, bub.” He murmured, crouching down to her level and scratching her ears again. “This is your new home, it’s going to be great.”

The dog whined again, but this time she entered the house when Mark encouraged her too. Ethan seemed a little unnerved about the way Chica was acting, but he followed Mark and Tyler inside to reveal a large, open plan space. To the right of the front door was a living room area, to the right was a dining room that led through to the kitchen, and there was a corridor leading to the bedrooms, and the room Mark had designated for recording. Mark had been slowly getting his furniture delivered before moving himself, so it was set rather haphazardly around and would need some adjustments, but it would be a relatively easy task compared to unpacking all his belongings. It was with a smile that Mark realised that the internet he had paid to have installed early was set up and flashing as well.

“You guys want the royal tour?” Mark asked with a grin, “After we get the boxes in?”

Both Tyler and Ethan nodded, although Ethan didn’t look as excited as he had before. The open plan design allowed them to pile the boxes in the front hall in different piles depending on where Mark was going to put the things in them. It didn’t take as long as it had to pack them into the car, and the recording equipment came last so it was handled carefully and placed in a space all of its own.

As Tyler carried the last box into the house, Mark stood outside and surveyed it. It was a nice size that was true, especially for someone living alone as he was, and since it was setback from any other houses nearby it would be perfect for his screaming during recordings, for Chica and for any skits they did there. The old occupants had been rather eager to leave, so the entire process of getting the house in his name and paying for it had gone smoothly.

It had just begun raining when Ethan appeared in the doorway. “Are we getting the royal tour or not, Mark?” He called.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Mark laughed, “Just let me appreciate my castle.”

Ethan laughed as well and stepped back to allow Mark back inside. He ran them around the house, exploring as much for himself as for them. During the tour, Mark explained the ideas he had for the different spaces, such as the dining room which he was thinking of turning into a temporary office for skits since they were still searching for a more permanent place. Tyler and Ethan gave suggestions when needed, and followed Mark dutifully through the living room, kitchen, utilities room, the garage that Mark hadn’t even been aware of, and the bedrooms.

“There’s enough space for us all.” Tyler remarked as they finished with the last bedroom and Mark wandered back to the one he was thinking of turning into his recording studio.

“Maybe if we shared rooms.” Mark shrugged, “It’ll be good if we’re ever recording something at night.”

“Or we want a sleepover.” Ethan put in.

“Or that.” Mark agreed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m setting up my recording studio first out of anything.”

“Gotta update the fans.” Tyler smirked, “I’ll stay and help you do that at least.”

Ethan nodded, “I’ll help too.”

Sharing the job definitely made it easier. Mark had put the soundproofing foam in different boxes to use as padding for some of his more breakable belongings, and it took a while for them to find them all and extract them without damaging anything. When they had found all the boxes, Ethan was in charge of getting the foam out of the boxes and passing them on to Tyler and Mark to stick it on the wall. Since Mark’s standing desk had already been delivered and assembled in an earlier visit, it made a little easier for them to decide the layout of the foam. With the three of them working together it took them less than hour to sort out the walls and get all of Mark’s electronics in. Mark waved off their help setting up his recording space, stating he’d do it later himself to make sure it was done the same way he wanted.

“Thank you for the help guys!” Mark exclaimed tiredly, “I’m glad that’s out of the way.”

“Do you need any help with the rest of your stuff?” Tyler asked, stepping carefully over the wires as they left the office.

Mark shook his head. “Nah, I’ll probably just do it slowly over the next couple of days. The recording stuff was the most important.”

“Right well I better get going now.” Tyler said, “I’ve got some other stuff I need to do today. Ethan, you want a lift?”

“Sure.” Ethan nodded.

Mark led them to the front door, grabbing Chica’s collar to stop her from running out as Tyler opened it.

“Don’t you feel weird in this house?” Ethan asked before they left, fiddling with the hem of his shirt with apparently nervousness. “I dunno what it is, but I’ve felt like someone’s been watching us since we started doing the recording studio.”

Tyler shrugged and Mark shook his head.

“Feels normal to me.” Mark said, “It’s probably just because I haven’t unpacked yet it doesn’t feel right.”

Ethan didn’t look convinced but he didn’t argue either and followed Tyler out to his car. Mark watched until they had driven out of sight, before stepping back inside the house and collapsing onto the couch. He was so tired, but the stress was easing in his chest now that all his things had been moved successfully. Chica jumped up on the coach and settled herself on Mark’s chest, head just below his chin.

“Hey bub,” He murmured, stroking her ears gently as she purred. The rest of the unpacking was going to wait, Mark wanted to have a chilled-out moment with Chica to let the ache in his arms calm down.

An hour later, Mark cracked his eyes open and realised he had fallen asleep. Chica had moved at some point during the hour, and Mark’s arms were numb. Stretching, he pulled himself off the couch and yawned. He needed to record a video to upload to confirm to he had finished the move and would soon be back to recording, but he also really needed to get on with unpacking. Sighing, Mark grabbed the closest box to him and began to rifle through it. The noise drew Chica to him, and she followed him around the house as he began to ferry the boxes around to the correct rooms and leaving them in piles there instead. There was no point in him starting to unpack things until he had had a chance to rearrange the furniture, so Mark left the majority of his stuff in their boxes, except when it came to the kitchen.

As he was unpacking his utensils, he remembered he had promised to message his mum, so Mark sat down at the kitchen table and fished his phone out of his pocket. Amy had texted him as well, and he replied to her first with a picture of the boxes still piled in the kitchen. He sent the same picture to his mum with a caption of “How many boxes will still be around when you come to visit?” It’d make her smile, and maybe scold him jokingly to get everything unpacked as quickly as possible.

Chica’s bowl was the next thing Mark found, along with some food for her, and she barked happily as he placed it down next to some water for her. Finishing the kitchen took him around an hour and half, and the crowning achievement to top it all off was a Markiplier M with a pink warfstache magnet that got prime position on the fridge. By the time he was done with the kitchen, Mark had no intentions or want to unpack anything else, so he padded through the house to his recording room and began to set up his computer and cameras in there, leaving the door open so Chica could wander in if she wanted to.

Mark frowned as he opened the door. His headphones, keyboard and mouse were on the floor, although he had placed them on the desk when he had unboxed them. Luckily they weren’t broken, but it didn’t make sense for them to have fallen off the desk. Shrugging, Mark picked them up and set them down and began setting up the rest of the recording equipment. When he was done, Mark decided this was going to be his favourite house to record in. The lighting was great, the sounding was good and Mark could set up his editing computer in the same room because of the amount of space he had in there.

Loading up his computer, Mark jumped when his phone started ringing with a Skype call. Pulling it out of his pocket, Mark rubbed the remnants of sleep from his eyes and looked at who was calling him. Smiling when he saw it was Jack, he answered it quickly, pushing his hair out of his face as he did it.

“Hey Jack.” He greeted his friend as the video popped up.

“ _Did ye just wake up from ye beauty sleep?”_ Jack teased, his image crackling a little bit since Mark had bad reception on his phone.

“So what if you did?” Mark laughed, “Hang on though I’m on my phone and it’s not connected to the Wifi, let me get my computer set up and I’ll call you back.”

“ _Alright.”_ Jack chuckled, “ _Talk to ye soon_.”

Releasing the call, Mark went to get the password key for the internet and set up the connection while he plugged his headphones in and loaded Skype. The wall behind him was reflected in his computer screen, and it showed Mark the mirror that was hanging on the wall that he had forgotten about.

“That is definitely coming down.” Mark muttered to himself as he called Jack. He could just see himself freaking himself out after playing a horror game by turning around and seeing himself in that mirror. For now, the mirror was going to be staying where it was as Skype made the noise to symbolise that Jack – known as Jackaboy on Mark’s Skype – had answered.

“ _Wow Mark, did ye just wake up from ye beauty sleep?”_ He asked and Mark laughed.

“I may have done. Moving is tiring.” He replied.

Jack sent him a sceptical look which Mark returned comically.

“I know you’ve moved from one country to another, I moved from Cincinnati to LA and that’s a far trip as well!” Mark continued.

“ _At least there wasn’t an ocean for ye to cross.”_ Jack pointed out with a grin. “ _I’m glad ye’re all moved in though.”_

“Yeah, Ethan and Tyler helped me and I’ve spent most of my afternoon unpacking and sleeping.” Mark nodded, “How’s it going in Brighton?”

“ _The move went well but it’s weird being here and not in Ireland. A nice change though, it’s really stimulating me.”_ Jack admitted, stretching and yawning. It was late in the UK, Mark assumed since it had just hit six in LA.  
“ _That mirror behind ye is pretty creepy.”_ Jack added.

“I know.” Mark agreed, “It’s definitely coming down when I have the chance. Can you imagine seeing your reflection in that thing after playing a horror game?”

Jack laughed loudly, “ _I can definitely see ye doing that. I should come and see ye.”_

“A trip to LA is definitely overdue!” Mark said, “This house has spare bedrooms too, so you don’t even have to fork out for a hotel if you don’t want.”

Opening his mouth to reply, Jack frowned, his eyes drawn to the mirror behind Mark for a moment. Mark turned his head as well but saw nothing.

“What’s up?”

“ _Nothing,”_ Jack replied, although he didn’t sound too sure. “ _Thought I saw something in the mirror behind ye.”_

Glancing at the mirror again, Mark once again saw nothing but a reflection of the room so shrugged it off. The conversation turned to video games, funny videos they had seen and how they would definitely need to plan a visit for Jack and Signe soon. Nearly an hour slipped away before Jack could barely keep his eyes open.

“You should probably go to bed.” Mark yawned himself, the action still infectious even through a computer screen. “We can talk more later.”

“ _Yeah, guess so,_ ” Jack agreed, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. “ _Talk to you soon, Mark.”_

“Goodnight Jack.” Mark waved, grinning when Jack high-fived the camera back before the call disconnected.

Since he already had his computer up, Mark decided he would record a message for his fans, and then set it to upload while he made something to eat. Or ordered something to eat since he had hadn’t actually gone shopping yet. Putting that on his mental list of things to do – and definitely not forget to do – Mark launched his recording software and tapped his mic to make sure it was registering sound.

“Hello everybody, my name is Markiplier and you may have noticed that my recording settings have changed” He began, custom grin in place as the camera began to record. “Yup, I’ve moved, in a brand new house which is awesome and it’s going to give me a great space to be able to carry on creating great stuff for you guys! To answer the obvious question, no there won’t be a house tour of this place, but you’ll get well acquainted with some parts of it through videos. I just wanted to keep you guys up to date and let you know that since I’ve got all my recording equipment set up the schedule should be back up and running tomorrow as normal!” Mark paused, rolling his neck and shoulders as the familiar, earlier stiffness began to settle back in.  
“Expect more crazy challenges soon, but for now, thank you so much for all your support since uploads have been a bit crazy in the last week due to the move, I promise it will get back on track. Thank you everybody so much for watching, and as always, I will see you in the next video. Buh-bye!”

Setting the video to compress and compile ready to be uploaded on Youtube, Mark wandered into the kitchen to root out some of the takeaway menus he had brought with him. Luckily, some of his favourite places were nearby so he could order something quick and have it delivered right to his door still. Padding softly back into the office, Mark uploaded the video with a normal caption before closing Youtube and shutting down his computer. He was too tired to think of recording anything tonight, all he wanted to do was curl up and get an early night.

Sinking down onto the couch as he placed his order, Mark felt about for the TV remote. It was handed to him suddenly from behind, making Mark jump.

“Why did you move?” A sullen voice asked.

Mark ignored the voice and turned the TV on. He was tired, and speaking to disembodied voices wasn’t on his top list of priorities. Any other time it would have made him jump, but now he just wanted his food to arrive and then to go to sleep. He ended up falling asleep before food arrived, but woke up to the smell of pizza. Frowning, Mark pushed himself out of the uncomfortable sitting position he had fallen asleep in and examined the pizza. One slice was missing, but the rest was there and it was too tempting to resist.

Eating as much as he could before his eyelids began to droop again, Mark carried the box to the kitchen and paused in the door way. His knife set was knocked over and one of the knives was missing. Glancing around didn’t immediately bring it to Mark’s attention, and it was only after a little searching that he found it in one of the drawers instead.

That was a little more concerning.

But, he thought to himself, it was entirely possible that he had put it there himself when he was unpacking. It was easy to do, and Mark decided that was the most likely explanation. Picking up the knife set and sliding the missing knife back in, he sloped off to his bedroom to get ready for bed, hoping it would prepare him for another day of unpacking. Chica was already waiting for him in her bed, curled up and dreaming, and Mark had to resist the urge to pat her to avoid disturbing her.

As he was brushing his teeth, Mark thought he saw a figure in the bathroom out of the corner of his eye. His heart spiked with fear, but Mark shook the thoughts from his head. _It’s just nerves because this is a new house,_ he chastised himself, _you’re going to see things because you’re looking for them._

Letting the bathroom door close itself, Mark slipped into bed and stifled a yawn. This was a new start, and it was going to be a good one. That was his last thought before he fell asleep again, drifting off easily and peacefully.


	2. Unexpected Phenomena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Ethan brings up the weird things happening the house, Mark does some investigating and things come to a head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter might be a little rushed, but I wanted to get Anti introduced to get into the real meat of the story! Thank you guys for all the comments and kudos so far you guys are great!

 

It only took Mark a week to get all of his belongings unpacked and the house sorted out the way he wanted it to be, which was a record for him. Amy, Ethan, Tyler and Kathryn spent a lot of time at the new place, both helping him and helping Chica. Mark’s recording schedule had gone out of the window as he was usually too tired after a day of moving things around the house to get more than a couple of short videos done, but having Ethan and Kathryn on board was definitely helpful, as they were able to edit things quickly for him to give the fans something.

At the end of the week, Mark was exhausted but settled in.

During a quiet night with Amy in the newly arranged living room, Mark began to notice the odd things that happened around the house. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t been happening from the beginning, but he had simply overlooked them and made excuses for them, but now his attention was solely focused on them.

“When I first moved here, I swear someone spoke to me and handed me the TV remote.” Mark murmured as they watched a film. He had forgotten the name of it, but the storyline seemed okay and the acting was pretty good.

Amy glanced at him from where she partially lay, curled up against his side. “How tired were you?” She asked with a small grin.

“Very.” Mark laughed, “But I swear it happened. Loads of weird stuff happens in this house.”

“Have you moved into a haunted house?” Amy teased, although Mark saw her eyes light up with potential interest. “You do attract all sorts of weird things.”

“I’ve not been given the sense anything is wrong.” Mark shrugged, “It’s just weird. Now I’ve got a few moments to think about it, you know?”

Amy nodded, “I know. But I’m sure everything has a logical explanation.”

“An explanation.” Mark said, “Not a logical one.”

With that, they returned to the movie. But Mark’s mind wasn’t in it anymore, his thoughts were racing, trying to find something that could explain what had happened. As he thought, the TV suddenly gave a bursting sound of static, making them both jump, and the image glitched.

Mark swore. “This better not be breaking.”

“Maybe it was a power surge?” Amy suggested, “Or an electrical fault?”

The image returned to normal in a matter of seconds and the sound came back, so Mark relaxed back into the cushions of the couch and thought nothing else of it. When the movie was over, he was half-asleep, warm and comfortable with Amy pressed into his side. She yawned and nudged him awake.

“We should go to bed. I have an early morning tomorrow.” She whispered.

“Mm.” Mark nodded in agreement but made no move to get up until Amy did, taking his hand and pulling him with her. They stumbled into the bathroom, took turns brushing their teeth and sorting themselves out before sliding into the bed. Mark was asleep within a matter of minutes, Amy curled next to him breathing lightly as sleep claimed her too.

As awareness slowly returned to Mark, he had the distinct feeling something was wrong. It felt as if eyes were on him, watching him with a calculating stare. Groggily, he blinked against the darkness of his room, acutely aware of Amy’s light breathing by his side. He couldn’t see anything in the room, except for a faint sliver of light beyond the curtains. Mark tried to move, but found his body wasn’t responding. He wasn’t truly awake yet, so his body had yet to realise and catch up to his mind.

The door creaked open and if Mark hadn’t already been frozen, he would have tensed up completely at the sound. He turned his head towards the door but found no one there. The hallway, slightly visible from the door now being ajar, was just as dark as the bedroom was, and the feeling of being watched intensified. Giggling sounded, and Mark heard a sound like static again before the tension in the room faded and he relaxed. Almost against his will, his eyes closed and Mark fell back to sleep.

It was six o’clock when he woke again to the sound of Chica snuffling around the room. Amy was still asleep but stirring as Mark sat up and stretched. Chica sat patiently by the side of his bed, and he lazily stroked her behind the ears as he blinked himself awake.

“What…time is it?” Amy’s voice was quiet, despite the silence of the room. She wasn’t fully awake, looking up at Mark with only her head poking out of the top of the duvet with tired eyes.

“Six.” Mark replied softly, “I’m going to go for a run with Chica-Bica, go back to sleep.”

Amy shook her head and sat up. “No, I’ll get up, I need to start early. I’m not running with you this time.”

Mark grinned, “I don’t mind. Come on Chica, let’s go.”

Chica bounded excitedly out of the room as Mark rummaged for his running gear and phone. Amy watched him, still snuggled up in the duvet and watching him with a soft smile on her face, and it was only when Mark turned and noticed the door was open that he remembered what had happened last night.

“I had the weirdest dream last night.” He said. “You know those dreams where you think you’re awake but things happen that make it obvious you’re dreaming?”

“Yeah?” Amy nodded, “What happened?”

“I was lying in bed, felt like I was being watched by someone and then the door opened. I heard giggling as well and then I fell back to sleep again.” Mark explained, “It was short, but I remember it being terrifying. And the door is open this morning.”

Amy shrugged, “It was probably Chica. I might be gone by the time you get back.”

She sounded a little disappointed, and Mark laughed. He knelt down on the edge of the bed and kissed her gently.

“We can see each other later, I’ve got recordings to do when I get back anyway.” He said.

Leaving Amy still burrowed in the duvet, Mark whistled for Chica and attached her lead to her collar. He was still getting used to the best places to run close to his new house, but there was a park not too far away that Chica enjoyed going to, so Mark began to run in that general direction. The cool morning air chased the feeling of whatever had happened last night from his mind, and by the time Mark and Chica had returned home Mark had forgotten it had happened.

The house was empty when Mark walked back in, which was fine. He knew Amy was busy with projects of her own, and she had left him some cold brew in the fridge for when he returned. Grabbing a glass of it, Mark watched Chica curl up on her bed in the living room, exhausted by the eventful morning. As he walked back into the corridor towards his recording studio, he frowned to see his bedroom door ajar. He had closed it this morning, and he knew Amy would have closed it behind her as well when she left. It was possible she had been in a rush, Mark supposed, but there was a niggling feeling in the back of his mind that something wasn’t right.

Approaching the room cautiously, Mark peered around the door before ducking inside. Nothing in the room seemed out of place, except for the book he kept next to his bed. It had fallen from the table in such a way that the bookmark had slid out and lost Mark’s place. There was nothing particularly strange about that, and Mark relaxed. Picking up the book, he flicked through the pages until he found a semi-familiar bit and put the bookmark back in, making a mental note to himself to find the correct place later. With that done, and his motivation for making videos supported by both the run and the cold brew, Mark disappeared into his recording studio with a smile.

\--

Ethan was the first to point out to Mark that it was odd he was ignoring the weird phenomena that was happening in his house, and it was what prompted Mark to investigate a little bit of the history of the house. Tyler wasn’t bothered by the house, but Ethan was apprehensive to enter and spend a lot of time there, and he would never spend any time in any room alone. Mark was used to the feeling that hung over the house, but upon Ethan’s request he contacted the estate agent for the history of the house.

The three of them were together when the details came via email.

“Hey, Ethan, the history of the house is here.” Mark called.

Tyler and Ethan were in the kitchen, making food while Mark laid the makeshift table he had set up in what had once been the dining room and was now a recording space. His laptop was open on the table, with a Youtube video pulled up, but when the notification came through to his phone, Mark closed the video and pulled up his emails, sending them to the TV mounted on the wall so they could all read the details easier.

Ethan was in the room in an instant, despite Tyler’s words of protest that they needed to finish the food.

“What does it say?” He asked.

“It’s a lot of pages.” Mark murmured, flicking through them too quickly to read any words to see how long the document truly was. “Get the food in here, we can read them.

Reluctantly, Ethan ducked back into the kitchen and Mark went back to the beginning of the file. When the food was brought through and the three were settled, they began scanning the document for any interesting history.

“This is all pretty standard.” Tyler said.

And he was right. The first fifteen pages of the document were just the story of planning permissions and how the house was built, the techniques used and where they originated and who the first owners were. Nothing interesting to note at all, but eventually, they came across a blank page with the word “Classified” stamped on it. The word had been crossed out and a messy hand had scrawled underneath “Files reopened to public record following closure of investigation”.

“This is more like it.” Mark grinned.

Ethan didn’t look so sure, but Mark ploughed on and began to read aloud the details.

“ _The Bowman family began to complain of strange phenomena happening in their house only two weeks after moving in. Things would be moved without explanation, and electronics in the house would seem to glitch and break, however when examined by a repairer no damage was found. Fearing for the lives of their children, the Mr and Mrs. Bowman, who will not be fully named for protection, contacted the police, however the officers had nothing to go on.”_ Mark paused, frowning. There was no way the house was haunted, it wasn’t possible. He hadn’t experienced anything like that, not really. The odd thing wouldn’t be in the same place as he’d left it, but most of the time it looked as if it had just fallen.   
“ _It was then that they contacted a paranormal investigation team, after seeing a TV programme with strange phenomena linked to a possible haunting. However, investigation by the team found nothing paranormal at all, and the Bowman family were left to live with the strange phenomena. At first, things seemed to calm down and they managed to make a home for themselves, until the incident, which is detailed below.  
“Mr. Bowman returned home from work late one night, to find his wife and children sleeping. By his own admission he decided to watch some TV before going to bed, and claims that as he was watching the TV would glitch, and he could hear a voice speaking to him. He admits the voice told him to do terrible things to his family, and himself, and was asking for permission to enter his body. Waving it off as exhaustion, Mr. Bowman went to bed. When he awoke the next morning, he claims he found his wife…dead in bed next to him.” _ Mark stopped again, paling a little bit. The estate agent hadn’t mentioned anything about a murder happening in the house at all, and he was sure that that was something that had to be disclosed.

Tyler took it upon himself to continue reading, since Ethan looked sick and Mark was too shocked.  
“ _Upon further investigation of the house, Mr. Bowman found his children also expired, lying in their beds. He was covered in blood from head to toe and he claims he heard the same voice speaking to him, blaming him for what had happened. Mr. Bowman called the police and when they arrived they found him crying in the yard, claiming he had been possessed and he had killed his family. With guns drawn, the police entered the house, only to find Mrs. Bowman and the two children alive and well but confused. Mr. Bowman would not believe they were alive, even when they were brought out to see him in the front yard, claiming he had killed them and the voices had told him to do so.  
“An investigation into the incident was launched, and until recently was open. Now it had been closed, Mr. Bowman is being treated for his psychological condition and Mrs. Bowman and the children pray he will recover soon.”_

“Holy shit.” Mark cursed under his breath, “I thought this was going to tell me someone was murdered in the house.”

“So, he just believed he’d killed his family?” Ethan asked, “What does that mean?”

“A psychotic break maybe?” Tyler suggested, “It’s possible he was stressed and anything that was happening in the house just seemed paranormal when really, there was an explanation to them.”

Mark nodded, but Ethan still didn’t look convinced. “What are the last few pages?”

“Letters from previous owners that came after the Bowman family,” Mark replied after taking a few seconds to scan them to gain insight on their content. “It seems they were all apologising for being unable to remain in the house for long.”

“There’s something in this house.” Ethan stated firmly, “What does he say?”

He was looking at Mark, who shrugged. “He’s been pretty silent since we got here. Honestly, if anything weird is happening it’s probably down to him anyway. Let’s face it Ethan, nothing that bad ever happened here except for a man having a psychotic episode and that’s not something that can be passed on through living in the same house. I’m glad he’s getting the help he needs before something did happen.”

Tyler nodded in agreement and Ethan dropped it. Mark stood to take the plates back to the kitchen, and Tyler helped him. As Ethan stood to help as well he felt a prickling feeling at the back of his neck, as if someone was staring intently at him. Whirling around, he saw no one there, but that didn’t stop him hurrying after Mark and Tyler into the kitchen.

\--

The story about what happened in the house years ago drops out of Mark’s mind easily when he gets back into recording. Really, the story didn’t really bother him too much, it didn’t point to anything wrong with the house itself.

It was late at night when it happened, Mark had just finished recording an Indie horror game – he had been really into them recently – and stretched. He wanted to record a few more videos so it would give him some time to focus on editing with Ethan and Kathryn instead of frantically recording videos to keep on schedule.

The door to the recording studio opened slowly with a creak and Mark jumped. Chica was sleeping in the living room, so Mark knew it wasn’t her. Standing, he walked over to the door and peered out into the hallway, but found no one there. As he closed the door, he heard static burst from his headphones and Mark jerked around to see his computer screen glitching crazily. Mark could hear giggling coming through the static in odd waves, and suddenly the screen went entirely black.

“Shit.” Mark cursed, rushing over to the computer. He hadn’t saved all the files for the last recording, he hoped that hadn’t corrupted the files. Wiggling the mouse brought no response from the machine, and the tower wasn’t making any noise and Mark blew his hair out of eyes in annoyance. Ducking under the table to examine the tower and make sure nothing had blown, Mark didn’t notice the silent glitches appearing on the screen again. When he had thoroughly messed with all the wires, Mark backed out from under the table and straightened up.

His heart nearly stopped.

Standing behind the desk, staring at him with shocking green eyes set in black sclera was a familiar figure.

“Jack?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [Tumblr](https://egotisticalfloof.tumblr.com/)


	3. Choking Pains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark is attacked by a glitch wearing his friends face, but he's saved by his own demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear with all the sh*t that has happened with Anti and Jack and Schneeple today...my heart can't take much more lmao
> 
> Nonetheless, my writing goes on.
> 
> Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos on the fic, you guys are awesome!

 

 

_Mark didn’t notice the silent glitches appearing on the screen again. When he had thoroughly messed with all the wires, Mark backed out from under the table and straightened up._

_His heart nearly stopped._

_Standing behind the desk, staring at him with shocking green eyes set in black sclera was a familiar figure._

_“Jack?!”_

\--

“Jack?!”

Even as the words left his mouth, Mark knew he wasn’t talking to his friend but a mirror image of his friend. The eyes were the dead giveaway, a bright and septic green with black sclera instead of white, but on top of that he had pointed ears, pointed teeth and the skin of his hands looked as it had touched live wires and burnt the skin. His body was glitching around and the grin on his lips was nothing like Mark had ever seen Jack make before.

“Who’s Jack?” The stranger asked, tilting his head to survey Mark at an angle while rubbing his sharp eye teeth with his tongue.

Mark could barely get coherent words out as his brain shorted out. All the strange occurrences that had happened in the house, from the first instance of walking in, to Ethan’s feeling, to the strange story of the Bowman family…it had all been because of this glitching man.

“Who are you?!” Mark demanded, finally getting his tongue around words. He was on the defensive shoulders hunched and legs parted as he moved, putting the desk between himself and the stranger.

The man giggled, “It doesn’t matter.” His voice glitched as he spoke and Mark jumped, “It doesn’t matter…I’m here for you.”

“For…me?” Mark choked out, backing away even further as the other man started stalking around the desk towards him.

The green haired intruder nodded, eyes fixed on Mark as he matched him step for step as Mark backed himself into a corner, the lights of the desk shining directly in Mark’s face. It made it a little harder for him to see and splashed his shadows over the wall.

“For you.” The stranger laughed, “I want your body.”

Before Mark could react, the man lunged, glitching through the desk with such speed that it knocked the breath out of Mark’s lungs as he was shoved into the wall. Hands wrapped around his throat, squeezing immediately and tightly until Mark was gasping for breath and scrabbling at the hands gripping him. The shadows on the wall began to stretch and curl behind him, unnoticed by Mark or the glitch.

“Give in to me!”

Mark tried to take a sharp breath, anything at all to get air into his lungs and fight back. His entire body seemed to be going numb, his fingers loosening on the hands around his neck and he couldn’t do anything. He was going to die to someone wearing his best friends face. As the stranger began to squeeze even harder, ready to choke life out of Mark’s body, a grey skinned hand shot out of the shadows behind Mark and grabbed the green haired man’s wrist in a tight grip. A growling noise began to grow into the room, and suddenly Mark and the other man were forced away from the wall as a figure began to form out of the shadows. The man stumbled and released Mark’s neck in surprise, and Mark collapsed to the floor, taking a shuddering, painful breath.

The newest figure took on what seemed to be a mirror image of Mark, but his eyes matched those of the glitching man standing opposite him, bright red irises and black sclera. A sneer rested on his lips as he stood in front of Mark, teeth bared at the glitch. Mark gazed up at him, his vision blurry and his body weak.

“Well, well, well.” The shadowy, grey skinned man said, voice deeper and more distorted than Mark’s with a dangerous and seductive lilt to it. “Anti. It’s been such a long time.”

‘Anti’ hissed and glared, his body glitching violently as he put at least an arm’s lengths between them. “Dark. Should have known you’d be here. You always did like to get in my way.”

Mark tried to reach for Dark, to get any sort of attention as his consciousness began to fade. It was too difficult to breath, too hard to keep his eyes open, and the words spoken by the two demons before him began to blur together. He saw Dark lunge and grab Anti’s arm before his vision went black and his head dropped backwards to the floor.

\--

Waking up suddenly to find himself in bed, Mark had a moment of panic at how he had gotten there…and his brain took a moment to make the connection. A flash of green hair, maniacal laughter and glitching flashed in his mind and Mark tried to shoot out of bed as his heart began to pound. A gentle hand pushed him back down, prompting Mark to look to the left to find Amy kneeling on the bed next to him, looking concerned. Dark was also in the room, standing in the corner with his arms folded. His left eye was bruised, the black of his sclera discoloured and there was a large cut on his lip.

There was a cold flannel on his neck, and Mark became aware of the pain in moving, swallowing and attempting to speak.

“We need to leave!” He gasped, his voice raw. “I need to get of here now!”

“I’ve already packed some things for you.” Amy nodded without question. She helped Mark up and out of bed, while Dark watched them passively.

“How did you know to come?” Mark asked, coughing painfully as he pulled the flannel from his neck and grabbed a jacket. “Did you get hurt?!”

“No.” Amy replied firmly, “Dark called me but he didn’t explain and there was no one in the house when I came in! What’s going on Mark?”

“There isn’t time to explain, I just want to get out of here!” Mark’s voice sounded a lot more pleading than he wanted and Amy looked a lot more panicked that he liked. He reached out and pushed some of her hair behind her ear and managed a smile. “I’ll explain when we’re in the car, okay?”

“Alright.” Amy murmured, “Go and get in the car, I’ll get Chica.”

Mark nodded and left his bedroom after grabbing his phone and handing Amy his keys. There was a suitcase set up by the door along with a backpack, which Mark grabbed before shouldering out of the door and to the car. Sliding into the passenger seat after sliding the suitcase and backpack into the boot, Mark sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“He can’t follow you.”

Dark’s voice permeated the sound of silence in the car, and Mark jumped. “Holy sh-…Dark! Don’t do that!”

Dark stared at him, face still passive. Mark stared right back, waiting for Dark to elaborate. When the silence stretched out again, Mark sighed and spoke first.

“What happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Dark responded, “You were attacked by a demon named Anti.”

“A demon?” Mark gawped at him and Dark frowned.

“You seem surprised by that. You’re talking to a demon right now.” The red eyed man cracked his neck and bit at the cut on his lip.

“I’m not surprised that he’s a demon.” Mark snapped, “Just that…I’ve run into another demon. You said he can’t follow me?”

“He’s attached to the house.” Dark explained smugly, looking too pleased with himself at the words, “He can’t leave without having someone to possess and since I’m already possessing you, he can’t have you. So you’ll be safe until you return.”

“How are you so sure I’m going to return?” Mark asked, “I don’t want to step foot into that house again.”

“You will.” Dark said simply.

Before Mark could say anything else, the car door opened and Chica jumped into the back seat. Dark disappeared and reappeared beside her, leaving the driver’s seat free for Amy. She shot the demon a distrusting look, which Dark ignored.

“He’s coming with us?” She asked.

“I go where my host goes.” Dark replied quietly, “Besides-.”

“Let’s just get out of here and we can explain later.” Mark interrupted, “I just want to get away from this house.”

Amy didn’t argue and started the car.

Dark sat quietly in the back seat, petting Chica and occasionally nibbling his lip and distressing the cut there. His presence was soothing to Mark, confirmation that whatever Anti was, he wasn’t following them.

Mark examined his neck in the mirror set in the sun visor above him. There was already a ring of bruises forming in the shape of Anti’s fingers, and there seemed to be black smudges on his skin as well. The demon’s fingers had been blackened at the end, Mark recalled, and clearly some of it had transferred during the struggle between them.

“I called Ethan when I was on the way over.” Amy said, finally breaking the silence. “He said you can stay with him for a few days until you decide what to do.”

She smiled and Mark returned it easier this time, reaching out to take her hand and squeeze it gently as she drove.

“Thank you, Amy.”

The rest of the car ride passed in silence.

-

Ethan was waiting outside his apartment building when Amy pulled into the parking area, and he looked nervous. Dark had long since disappeared back into Mark’s shadow, leaving Chica in the backseat alone, and the puppy had since gone to sleep. Mark coaxed her out gently, rubbing her behind the ears and murmuring for her to run to Ethan, who embraced her and smiled.

Grabbing his suitcase and backpack out of the car, Mark walked towards Ethan, Amy taking his free hand as they walked. Ethan’s eyes widened when he saw the ring of bruises on Mark’s neck, and Mark rubbed at the bruises subconsciously.

“I’m sorry, Ethan.” Mark said, “I should have listened to you.”

“It’s understandable,” Ethan waved off the apology easily, “You’ve been possessed by Dark for so long you probably don’t have the same senses, you’re used to it all.”

Mark nodded.

Ethan led them inside, Chica by his side as Mark and Amy followed behind. As soon as the door opened Chica rushed off into the living room and settled on the couch, and Ethan showed Mark to the spare room.

“Do you want some time before we talk?” Ethan asked quietly.

Mark shook his head, “No, may as well get an explanation now.” He shoved his suitcase in the corner and dropped his bag onto the bed before following Ethan to the kitchen. Amy was waiting for them with three glasses of water on the table. Mark slid into a seat next to her and Ethan sat opposite them. When his shadow grew again, Mark was aware that Dark was going to appear again, but it caught both Amy and Ethan by surprise when he did so, taking the seat next to Ethan without so much as a glance at him.

Ethan scooted his chair a little further away.

“So, what happened?” Amy asked, pushing Mark and Dark to explain.

“I was recording.” Mark began, sipping at the cold water thankfully as his voice was still raw, “Shit…it’s really late! Amy…you must be really tired?”

“Nah,” Amy replied, although she had to hide a yawn behind her hand, “I was still awake when Dark called.”

“I was recording as well, so you’re not bothering us.” Ethan confirmed but Mark still felt guilty.

Regardless, he ploughed on. “The door to the room opened, so I went and checked there was no one there and as I closed the door, static burst out of my headphones and my computer went crazy. I was trying to fix it, and when I came out from under the desk, I saw…well…at first I thought it was Jack.”

“Jack?!” Ethan exclaimed. “Why would the demon look like Jack?”

“Jack was the first person that he saw when Mark moved in.” Dark was the one to reply as if the answer was obvious. His red eyes flicked to Ethan, whose shoulders tensed up. “When you and Tyler were moving Mark in, there was nothing electronic on, so Anti couldn’t see you. When Mark turned on his computer and Skyped with Jack, Anti was allowed full view and then-.”

“Wait!” Mark interrupted, “Do you know him? This other demon?”

Dark rolled his neck again and nodded. “Yes.” He replied calmly.

Mark waited for him to elaborate, but Dark didn’t look interested in doing so, until Mark cleared his throat.

“His name is Anti.” The demon finally continued, steepling his fingers on the table, and resting his chin on his thumbs. “He’s a demon that lives in a person’s electronics once he’s possessed them. He didn’t specify how he ended up being stuck inside that house, but he has been trapped there for a long time.”

“You really know how to attract them, huh Mark?” Ethan commented with a nervous laugh. “Do you like, smell nice to them?”

“It’s not that.” Dark sniffed, drawing all attention again, “Anyone can be possessed by a demon, but not many people can handle possession as well as Mark can. It’s pure coincidence that he moved into the house that Anti is trapped in, but as has been said, Mark does not sense the same sort of uneasiness that others do when entering a house where a demon would be.”

“Did you know he was there?” Amy inquired, staring Dark directly in the eye.

He met her gaze easily, a light smirk on his lips. “I could sense him, yes.”

“Why didn’t you warn him?” Amy pressed through gritted teeth, trying to stay calm.

Mark laid a hand on her arm, rubbing his thumb back and forth and drawing her attention away from Dark momentarily.

“Do you know how many demons I sense on a daily basis?” Dark murmured, tilting his head slightly to the side and observing Amy with an odd expression, “There was no indication there was a demon in Mark’s house, just nearby.”

“And at that point, Anti wasn’t a threat.” Mark added, “So he didn’t need to do anything or warn me because I wasn’t in danger.”

Dark nodded once, “Also that.”

Running a hand through his hair, Mark sighed before coughing again. His throat was in agony and his voice was being effected by constantly speaking. He needed to rest and gather his thoughts and decide what on earth he was going to do. Amy noticed as Ethan shifted uncomfortably next to Dark.

“You should really get to bed.” She said gently, slipping her hand into Mark’s hand where it lay on her arm, “And we can help you make a decision when you feel better.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep, but I’ll try.” Mark murmured, “Thanks for letting me stay here Ethan.”

“You should stay too Amy, you shouldn’t drive when you’re tired.” Ethan suggested, “There’s more than enough room for both of you in that room.”

Amy shook her head, “I’ll be fine to drive, Ethan, but thank you. Mark, I’ll come back in the morning okay?”

Mark smiled and kissed her cheek gently, “Okay. Thank you for coming over.”

“Thank Dark for calling me.” Amy glanced at the demon, who was ignoring them all and messing with the cut on his lip again. “Try and get some sleep, Mark.”

He nodded and walked her down to her car, grabbing Ethan’s keys so he could get back into the building. Amy wrapped her arms around him when they reached the car, and he buried his head in her hair, pressing a kiss there and taking deep breaths to keep himself calm.

“It will be okay, Mark.” She whispered.

“I know.” Mark muttered in response, “I know. Thank you.”

“Sleep well.” Amy kissed him one last time before climbing into the car and driving off.

Mark watched her drive off until the car disappeared around the corner. Traipsing back up the stairs to Ethan’s apartment, Mark found his friend sitting on the couch with Chica, two mugs of hot chocolate on the table in front of him.

“Are you really okay?” Ethan asked quietly when Mark took a seat beside him and sighed as exhaustion washed over him. He could see how tired Mark was, and the bruises were only getting darker and more noticeable.

Mark nodded slowly, “I’ll be fine. I’m still alive so…just…I don’t think I can go back to that house, not yet.”

“You can stay here as long as you need to Mark.” Ethan comforted him, handing him the hot chocolate which Mark took gladly.  
“And you can even stay here while you look for a new house if you want to.”

“Thank you, Ethan.” Mark smiled softly.

Ten minutes later they had drained their hot chocolate and Mark stumbled to the bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. He was asleep within minutes despite the events of the night and he didn’t notice Dark manifesting from his shadow and slipping through the door.

\--

The house was quiet when Dark arrived there, appearing through the shadows in the living room. He walked towards Mark’s recording studio, where the light of Mark’s computer screen was flickering.

“So, you came back?”

Anti appeared, glitching out of the screen, grinning and stalking towards Dark. His face was a picture of bruises and cuts just like Dark’s, and even his arms were bruised from where the other demon had grabbed him. The red eyed demon didn’t look perturbed at all, watching Anti come closer to him with his arms folded, posture perfect.

“Why is it you always try to get in my way?” Dark asked, pushing his red dyed hair out of his face. “Trying to attack and kill my host? Surely you sensed he was already possessed?”

“What can I say?” Anti shrugged, “You don’t make a lasting impression.”

Dark glared at him, his gaze hard. “Says the demon that is now trapped in a house?”

Anti hissed at him, his body glitching worse in his anger. “I didn’t get stuck here! Someone stuck me here! And I want out, but you had to come and ruin it.”

“Oh please,” Dark drawled, “Give me the juicy story Anti, I want to know how you got stuck here and why you’ve not escaped yet. You may not be as strong as some,” Anti snapped his teeth at Dark as he spoke, “But you’re not weak.”

Grinding his teeth and flashing his sharp fangs at Dark, Anti’s hands flashed up, gripping his hair in annoyance before clenching into fists at his side before he finally replied. “A demon hunter by the name of Elise was the cause of it. Apparently, I chose the wrong target and ended up possessing the daughter of an old friend of hers and she gave her all to help. It killed her, but I’m now stuck here. And I don’t have a viable host.”

It was evident Dark was trying not to laugh at Anti’s predicament, but his amusement was evident and Anti glitched.

“Just take one of his friends.” Dark dismissed Anti’s annoyance, adjusting his posture and smoothing the grey hoody he was wearing. “Mark has plenty, probably strong enough for you.”

“You don’t really mean that though Dark, don’t try and trick me.” Anti laughed, “Besides, I’ve taken an appearance now…and I actually kind of like it.”

The grin that split on Dark’s lips at Anti’s words was dark and cruel, and Anti responded with an equally cruel albeit manic grin. “You know the answer to that, do you not?”

“Possess this Jack boy.” Anti stated.

Dark nodded, “The only problem with that, is he lives abroad. So, maybe you should attempt to get him to visit?”

Anti glitched happily, zipping around the room until he finally settled in front of Dark again. Dark watched him with one eyebrow raised.

“I doubt you’re going to help me, are you Darky?” Anti giggled, stepping into Dark’s personal space.

The dark-haired demon didn’t step back, gripping Anti’s chin and pulling him even closer. “If you play your cards right and don’t get in the way of my goals, I may help you. But you better make it worth my while.”

Anti licked his lips. “I’m sure I can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [Tumblr](https://egotisticalfloof.tumblr.com/)


	4. Planned Manipulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark has a choice to make about his new house, but everyone around him has their own opinion too. Including Dark. And Anti.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a longer chapter xD I wanted to get a lot of this main part of the story out of the way and finished so I can introduce Jack!  
> Also, I have uploaded images of what Dark and Anti look like in this fic, you can find them [Here](https://egotisticalfloof.tumblr.com/post/163613490192/glitch-demon-anti-and-a-reupload-of-shadow-demon) on my Tumblr.
> 
> Thanks for all the lovely comments and kudos on this fic, I'm really glad you guys are enjoying it ^^

 

 

When Mark woke up the following morning, everything felt like a bad dream until he stretched and yawned. The yawn became a cough and his throat protested the movement. Blinking himself properly awake, Mark realised immediately he wasn’t in his own home but Ethan’s, and his brain filled in the rest of the gaps from what had happened the night before, as another yawn became a painful cough. Déjà vu washed over him: this was exactly how he had woken up after the initial attack by the demon.

Sitting up and stretching again, Mark pulled on a clean shirt and felt at his throat. The skin was tender and Mark assumed the bruises that had begun to form the night before had formed into the shape of fingers. Dropping his hand, Mark wandered quietly out of his room into the kitchen, finding Ethan already there with a cup of coffee in front of him. He was scrolling through his phone, smiling at something, glancing up when Mark entered. His smile faltered when he saw the bruises.

“Good morning.” Ethan greeted him softly.

“G’morning.” Mark rasped.

His voice was raw and he felt his throat twinge in protest at being used. He winced. “Ouch.”

Ethan looked sympathetically, standing from the table and pouring Mark both a cup of coffee and a glass of cold water to sooth his throat.

“Thanks.” Mark grinned through the pain and sipped at coffee first. The cold water would probably have been more advisable, but given the events of the night before, Mark needed to get caffeine in his body as quickly as possible to make sure he could think straight. He washed the hot drink down with the cold water, providing the relief his throat needed.

“Dark…he brought your laptop.” Ethan informed Mark, nodding towards the living room as he took a seat again at the table. Over his friend’s shoulder, Mark could see the demon sitting on the couch with said laptop on his knee. He was engrossed in whatever was on the screen, reading something quickly with Mark’s glasses perched on his nose, glancing up once when he felt Mark’s eyes on him. Mark looked away, back to Ethan when he started speaking again, “I assume he brought it so you could edit videos while you’re staying here? I mean, you can use my recording setup for now if you want.”

“Thanks Ethan.” Mark said quietly, “There’s probably an ulterior motive for him bringing them here, but it’s nice to have it. I left so quickly last night, I only brought essentials, and even then, Amy was the one who packed them for me.”

Silence fell between them, broken only by the occasional sound of Dark typing on the laptop from the other room. Pulling out his phone, Mark noticed Amy had sent him a text about fifteen minutes before he had woken up, telling him she had some would to do and then she would be coming over to check up on him. Mark fired a quick confirmation text back to her, thanking her for her actions last night. He wouldn’t definitely thank her in person when she came by, he couldn’t quite remember if he had properly done so the night before.

“Mark, are you going to go back to that house?” Ethan asked, setting his phone down on the counter and reaching for the coffee pot again.

Taking another sip of cold water before replying, Mark shook his head. “I can’t go back there. Not straight away anyway.”

“But you’re considering it?” Ethan pressed, frowning in concern.

“I don’t know.” Mark sighed, immediately regretting the action at the way it irritated his throat. “I can’t really afford to move again, and all my stuff is already there but…I don’t know. This demon…Anti…he can’t hurt me since Dark is with me, but I don’t know if that would stop him from trying…”

He trailed off and ran a hand through his hair. Not only was talking for an extended period too painful, but he didn’t feel like he could face the subject of Anti right now. There were so many decisions he had to make, and the stress that had settled after the move had finished started to resurface inside him, sending his stomach into knots.

Footsteps announced Dark’s approach to the kitchen. Ethan went tense and Mark looked up at him, but the demon merely took a mug, poured himself coffee and went to head back to the living room. A thought struck Mark and he started suddenly, calling out to Dark.

“Could Anti come here through my laptop?”

Dark turned back to him, cracking his neck and sipping at his coffee. “No.” He replied evenly, “I told you, Anti’s attached to the house itself. He can possess and travel through the electronics that are inside the house because they’re within the confines of his prison, but he cannot leave through them. Why, do you think that’s why I brought it here?” The following smirk showed Dark’s sharp teeth, and Mark bristled.

“Why did you bring it then?” Ethan asked.

“Does it matter?” Dark responded in a bored tone, eyes flicking to Ethan. “Do you really need to know all my motives, even if there are any behind this?”

Ethan went to respond but Mark cut him off, “Don’t worry about. Whether he has a motive or not, it’ll become clear soon enough. I’m sorry you’re saddled with him too.”

“It’s fine.” Ethan shrugged, “As long as you’re safe.”

Deciding he was no longer needed, Dark disappeared back into the living and collapsed backwards onto the couch. As he hit the surface, he moulded into the shadows, – coffee cup and all – vanishing from view with one last, chilling smile sent in Mark’s direction.

“What are you going to do today? Except rest your voice?” Ethan inquired, drawing Mark’s attention again.

“Probably edit some videos since Dark brought my laptop. I did some work before Anti appeared and it should be available on there.” Mark muttered, “I want to do something that feels normal.”

“Understandable.” Ethan nodded, “Well, I’ve got some chores to do, will you be alright by yourself?”

“Oh yeah, Amy’s going to come over soon and check up on me so don’t worry.” Mark confirmed, “I’ll just be sitting here and editing anyway.”

Ethan didn’t look entirely convinced but he didn’t argue, merely finished his coffee and stood up to potter around the house and get ready to go out. “Make sure you rest your throat.”

“Well I won’t be talking when you’re gone.” Mark smirked.

Grinning in response, Ethan disappeared into his bedroom, leaving Mark to his own devices. Chica followed Ethan into the bedroom, so Mark walked into the living room and settled himself on the couch, pulling his laptop onto his knee. Dark had left the webpage up from his own browsing session, and Mark saw it was a Youtube video of cats. Shaking his head, Mark closed the browser and loaded up his editing software. Ethan wandered back into the room, stretching as he pulled on a jacket.

“Mark, I’m off.” Ethan called as he unlocked the front door, Chica still at his heels. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”

“Come here, bub.” Mark whistled to Chica, getting her away from the door so Ethan could leave. “I don’t need anything, thanks Ethan. See you later.”

The door closed and locked itself as Ethan left, bounding down the stairs and out of the building. Mark got up and put the chain on, something in his gut telling him the extra layer of protection was needed. He couldn’t feel Dark’s presence, but he was known to mask himself from time to time. Pulling his laptop back onto his knee and methodically went through his recordings prior to Anti’s appearance to see if any of the files were corrupted.

“You’ll find all the files fine and uncorrupted.”

Mark jumped as Dark appeared suddenly behind him and slid into a seat on the couch beside him.

“Anti is all back and no bite.” The demon continued, “He wouldn’t have done anything to your files, he’s not clever enough for that.”

“What do you want?” Mark asked coldly. He was feeling twitchy with Dark so close.

“I told you I don’t need to reveal all of my motivations to you,” Dark repeated his earlier words, rolling his neck and pushing his hair out of his face. “And you know me so well Mark to know that.”

Glancing at him for a fraction of a second, Mark frowned and then decided to continue ignoring Dark until he revealed what he wanted. Dark didn’t seem to mind, materialising a book out of the shadows and curling his legs under him to read while Mark edited. When it became obvious that Dark wasn’t going anywhere, Mark tried to concentrate on editing instead of on the demon, since his presence wasn’t comforting at all.

Almost an hour and a half later Amy arrived, knocking on the door and waking Mark from the doze he had fallen into while editing. Starting up, he only just managed to catch his laptop before it went tumbling to the floor, and he found himself alone in the apartment, Dark nowhere to be seen. Stumbling to the door, Mark unlocked it and let Amy in, smiling in response to the warm smile she was wearing as she ducked inside.

Like Ethan, her smile faded when she saw the bruises on his neck. “How are you holding up?” She asked, lightly tracing the marks.

Mark locked the door, twitching away from her touch. “M’fine.” He yawned as he spoke, covering his mouth and swallowing down a cough. “I’ve been editing just to take my mind off things. Dark’s been hanging out here but he’s disappeared.”

The demon’s book was resting on the arm of the chair but as Mark had noticed when he first woke, the demon was gone. Mark settled back into the spot he had just vacated, Amy sitting beside him and tucking her legs beneath him. She pushed her hair behind her ear and leant against Mark.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do yet?” She inquired softly, taking Mark’s hand.

“I’ve just been running from the problem. I don’t think I can…face it you know? It’s a little surreal.” Mark admitted sheepishly, squeezing Amy’s hand. “Editing videos and not really considering my choices seemed to be the easiest thing to do. And…I don’t know what to do.”

Shifting her grip, Amy rubbed Mark’s knuckles gently. Mark moved as well, allowing Amy to lie against his side and rest her head on his shoulder. “Don’t call it stupid Mark.” She comforted him, “You’ve already gone through so much in terms of demons, with Dark’s possession of you, and with this new situation…it’d be hard for anyone to deal with.”

“Really, if anyone should be dealing with it, it’d be me.” Mark sighed, “Like you said, I’ve already been dealing with a demon, I should be able to deal with another one.”

“He’s a completely different demon, Mark!” Amy argued, although her tone was still soft, “And he’s a new threat. Used to demons or not, he tried to kill you and that would mess anyone up.”

Mark nodded, but he could tell Amy wasn’t convinced by his words. Silence fell between them, Amy shifted away from Mark so he could go back to editing and she could pull out her own laptop to do some work of her own. She didn’t have to stay with him, Mark knew that she could have been working a lot easier at her pottery studio or in her own flat, but she wasn’t going to leave him alone. Watching her in between editing, Mark noticed the way her eyes flickered to the bruises on his neck, how her hand hovered over his every so often to make sure he wasn’t shaking, and how she was completely ready to get up and get him anything he wanted. It was so touching and Mark loved her so much in that moment.

The silence was broken by the sound of a Skype call coming through Mark’s laptop, interrupting his editing progress and making both of them jump. Checking the caller ID, Mark found nothing there except strange, zalgo text.

Amy leaned over to look too, “Who is it?”

“It doesn’t say,” Mark replied, tilting the laptop to show her, “I guess it could be a troll, it happens from time to time.”

“It looks odd, just let it ring out.” She suggested, frowning as she read the text.

Mark didn’t reply, just pushed his laptop onto Ethan’s coffee table and stood. Amy followed him into the kitchen, where he grabbed coffee grinds and set the kettle to boil while Amy knew exactly what he wanted and retrieved cups for them. Perusing the fridge, Mark took out some milk and silently made the coffee. As he poured the fresh cups out, the sound of another Skype call echoed through the flat again.

“Don’t answer it.” Amy said, taking Mark’s hand with her free hand as he began to shake. He pulled out of her grip, set his coffee down and walked quickly back over to his laptop. The text on the ID was zalgo again, but this time there was a name spelled out, and Mark’s heart sank when he realised it said _Mark Fischbach_ and the profile picture matched the same one that he used. Was he…Skype-calling himself?

“Mark?”

“ _He’s a demon that lives in people’s electronics. He can possess and travel through the electronics that are inside the house because they’re within the confines of his prison.”_

Even as Amy spoke, Dark’s words came rushing back to Mark as he stared at the strange Skype call. Could it possibly be Anti trying to contact him? Why? Did he want to speak to Dark? Or tease Mark himself?

“Mark?”

Amy repeated his name, louder this time and drawing Mark’s attention.

“I think it’s Anti.” Mark whispered. He hated how scared he sounded just saying the demon’s name, but he could feel a phantom pair of hands wrapping around his throat just by saying his name. Amy reached forward and grabbed his hands as he went to wrap them around his neck.

“Just ignore it.” She said firmly.

Mark’s gaze flicked to the laptop. “I can’t. He won’t stop calling if I don’t answer it!”

As she opened her mouth to reply, Mark quickly spoke.

“Amy, I…I need to do this. I don’t know why but…if I face him it might help me come to a decision. I’ve been ignoring it all day and now Anti is making it impossible for me to. I need to do this.”

“Okay.” Amy agreed, “Okay.”

She guided him to a seat on the couch and took one next to him before reaching forward and accepting the call. The screen went black, the video feed popping up full screen and the only thing that told Mark he was right were the giggles coming through the speakers. Amy glared at the screen, fully aware the glitch could see them both, and they waited for him to speak first.

“ _Hello, Markimoo.”_

His voice was just as broken and strangely pitched as it had been the night before and Mark felt his chest seize with panic. Amy took his hand, holding it below where the webcam could see so Anti wouldn’t know. Her expression told him that she would end this call if he got too panicked, and it gave him some resolve to respond and find out exactly what the demon wanted.

“Anti.” He said through gritted teeth.

The picture on screen glitched slightly at the name. “ _Ah, so Darky told you my name?”_ Anti laughed again as he spoke. Static burst through the speakers and glitched the image, but Anti still did not appear.

“What do you want?” Mark demanded, hoping he sounded braver and angrier than he felt.

“ _Why so angry, Markimoo?”_ Anti cooed, _“You don’t have hard feelings over what happened do you?”_

“You tried to kill me!” Mark snapped “What do you want?”

Anti sighed audibly, sounding disappointed and the screen glitched again. “ _Fine, fine, let me tell you. I want to know when you’re coming back.”_

“How can you be so sure he is?” Amy interjected.

“ _Please,”_ Anti scoffed, and Amy felt as if his eyes had turned to her, even though the screen was still just a stretch of blackness. “ _I know about your dear Markimoo’s good heart and how he’d do anything for fans, for other people…probably within reason I guess.”_

Mark glanced at Amy and found her still glaring at the screen and biting her bottom lip. Neither spoke, since it wasn’t a statement either could argue against. The reaction was exactly as Anti had predicted and it was what he was waiting for. Mark could almost picture the grin on the demon’s lips, able to imagine his face perfectly despite only having seen him for a short period of time.

“ _So, Markimoo, let me ask you this,”_ Anti continued, his tone still mocking but with a hint of triumph that Mark didn’t like. “ _If you leave this house behind, new occupants are bound to come after you. And just like every set of occupants that came before, I’ll attempt to possess one of them to escape and it will probably end just as badly as it did for the Bowman family…if not worse.”_

“What are you getting at?” Amy demanded, her mouth dry from nervousness at what Anti was hinting towards.

“ _How would you feel knowing that was your fault?”_ Anti spoke as if Amy hadn’t interrupted him, still addressing Mark as the glitches and static on the screen gradually grew worse. “ _How would you feel knowing that you left this house despite knowing how to deal and live with demons, and taking the knowledge that I couldn’t possess you with you? And whoever the next inhabitants are, the next person or couple or family that come could end up being possessed like you, or end up with the same fate as the Bowman family? Could you live with that, Markimoo?”_

“Shut up!”

Amy reached to slam the laptop lid down to end the call, but Mark caught her wrist, stopping her, his eyes focused on the screen.

“What are you getting at?” He asked, repeating Amy’s earlier words with a grim voice. “What do you want?”

“ _I can’t possess you Markimoo, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun with you.”_ Anti replied, giggling again. “ _I want you back here so I can do just that. I mean, may as well enjoy these years until someone else comes along I can take.”_

“What makes you think I want to come back and have fun with you?” Mark snapped. “You tried to kill me!”

“ _I wouldn’t have killed you,”_ Anti corrected him nonchalantly, “ _Just weakened you so I could take your body.”_

“I want a peaceful house!”

“ _Cute, but unrealistic. You’re a possessed boy, you can’t have a peaceful house. Especially with Dark around. Tell me, Markimoo, how much do you really know about him? Do you really think he’s going to stay the same chill demon you know at the moment? Everyone has their limits.”_

Anti was teasing him, using a mocking tone to play at any insecurities he could, and it was working. Mark wasn’t quick enough to stop Amy from slamming the laptop shut and ending the Skype call. She was breathing hard, the only evidence that Anti’s words had gotten to her too.

“Amy-.”

“You can’t listen to him Mark.” Amy interrupted, her voice shaking as she supressed her annoyance with the glitch. “He’s just trying to get you back into the house for something sinister. How do we know he can’t challenge Dark to possess you, or he won’t try to possess one of us?! It’s too dangerous.”

“But he has a point.” Mark protested weakly. He shouldn’t be saying it, shouldn’t be agreeing with Anti but he couldn’t help it. The glitching demon was right, in a sense. Mark wouldn’t be able to consciously hand that house over to new occupants knowing that Anti was living there. If someone ended up possessed the same way he was with Dark all because he wasn’t strong enough to deal with Anti…the guilt would be unbearable.  
“Anti could kill someone.”

“He could kill you!” Amy exclaimed, “Mark you’re talking crazy! He’s gotten into your head, and now you’re not thinking straight. Dark can’t always protect you Mark. You saw his injuries from his first fight with Anti, he didn’t come away from that unscathed, and all Anti has to do is injure you and it’ll weaken Dark!”

She was right. Mark buried his head in his hands, brain overworked at the choices he had before him. He could return, face Anti and force himself to live in that house to make sure no one else had to go through the torture of being possessed. Or, he could leave the house behind, let someone else deal with the problem that was Anti, and go about his life as best he could. Amy was right when she said that Anti and Dark clashing would not always come out favourable on Dark’s side, since Mark didn’t know enough about Anti’s fighting style.

Before either side could continue the argument, Chica entered the room and bounded over to them, whining at the raised voices. She rested her head between Amy and Mark on the couch and Mark scratched her ears gently and sighed. Amy slipped her hand into his free hand again, and offered him a smile when his gaze met hers.

“Why don’t we take Chica for a walk?” She suggested. “Some fresh air might do you some good.”

Mark nodded and stood silently. He didn’t trust himself to speak at the moment without somehow turning the topic back to Anti, and he was sure Amy didn’t want to hear anything about the demon right now. Really, Mark didn’t even want to talk about him, but his mind wouldn’t stop going back to him. Chica barked happily at the prospect of going for a walk, so Mark quickly got dressed while Amy fetched her lead and shoes.

“You’re right.” He murmured as Amy opened the door, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She replied quietly, “I understand where you’re coming from Mark. Come on, let’s go to the park and put the whole thing out of our minds.”

Glancing back towards his laptop, Mark breathed deeply and then left the flat with Amy and Chica in tow. The door swung shut and they made their way slowly downstairs, Chica straining at the leash in her excitement. As soon as they were outside Mark felt instantly buoyed and happier.

“Come on bub,” He encouraged Chica, who had stopped to sniff at some flowers by the side of the apartment building. With a bark, Chica took off again, nearly pulling Amy over in her enthusiasm.

Mark laughed and grabbed Amy’s arm to steady her, once again lacing their fingers together as they walked slowly down towards the park. There were a few people milling around, and quite a lot of children running around the grass and playing, filling the air with a gentle noise.

“I know you’re still thinking about it.” Amy said after a while. They had finally stopped and taken Chica’s leash off, and Amy was throwing a tennis ball for her, watching her race after it through the grass. Mark was lying down, arms outstretched, soaking in the sun with his eyes closed.

He cracked one open at her words. “What do you mean?”

Amy gave him a knowing look as Chica bounded back towards her. “Don’t play silly Mark, I know you’re lying there thinking about Anti and what he said.”

“You read me so well.” Mark laughed weakly, “Yeah, I am sort of. It’s a little hard to ignore.”

“I’m thinking about it too.” Amy admitted as Chica sat patiently in front of her waiting for the ball to be thrown again. Amy did so, sending Chica off after it, before sitting down on the grass beside Mark. “If you do really want to go back to that house I think you should take steps first. Try and get Anti out.”

“But the only way to get him out is to let him possess someone!” Mark protested, propping himself up on his elbows. “We can’t do that.”

“It can’t be the only way.” Amy pressed, “There has to be something else we’re not thinking of. I mean…Anti’s a demon, so…maybe an exorcist? I mean, if demons exist there has to be people who can get rid of them. Maybe…maybe ask Dark?”

“He said that Anti didn’t specify how he ended up getting stuck. And I doubt he’d be happy about me asking about exorcists,” Mark sighed, “But I suppose if anyone is going to know it will be him. Alright, when we get back I’ll ask him for details, and suggestions.”

Amy smiled and leant down to kiss Mark’s cheek before standing up to continue playing with Chica. Mark lay back down, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of phantom hands curling around his neck.

\--

Anti glitched out of Mark’s gaming computer, a glare fixed into place. How dare that girl shut down his Skype call like that, did she not know who he was? Why did she have to be there? Anti stomped towards the kitchen. Mark should have been easy to manipulate into returning, he was good at reading people and he knew just what words to use and yet…it was going to prove difficult.

_Probably Dark’s fault,_ Anti thought bitterly.

The demon in question was waiting for him in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a book resting in front of him and the mug of coffee he had made at Ethan’s next to that. He looked up when Anti entered, and the amused look on his face told that he already knew the result of the conversation with Mark.

“So, it went well then?” Dark smirked.

“Shut it.” Anti warned, grabbing a Pop-Tart from the cupboard and shoving it into the toaster. He was craving something sweet, anything to take the bitterness of defeat from his tongue. “There was some blonde lady there, stopped the thing before it could get too far. The same one you called after our fight.”

“That’s Amy, his girlfriend.” Dark explained nonchalantly, “Of course she’s there, considering you choked him last night. She’s a smart one, you’ll have to be clever to work around her.”

Anti twitched at the thinly veiled insult, pulling himself onto the kitchen side instead of taking a chair, swinging his legs as he waited for the Pop-Tart to cook. “She shut the laptop before I could finish convincing him to return, and she’s probably already convinced him it would be a bad idea. He’s definitely not coming back now.”

“Don’t lose faith.” Dark murmured as the toaster popped. “Mark will return here, however we manage to get him back. What you said to him was nicely done, even for an amateur like yourself. It will eat away at him. One more push, and he’ll come back. Luckily for you, I’m going to continue to help you for now.”

Anti munched on his Pop-Tart as Dark stood from the table, took up his book and mug and stretched.

“I’m listening.” The Glitch said.

“Who says I have a plan?” Dark shrugged, “I’ll tell you when I do.”

“I’m bored of this house Dark, so you better hurry up.” Anti warned, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Unimpressed, Dark didn’t even spare Anti a glance as he walked over to the kitchen door. “Blame yourself for the delay Anti, if you hadn’t tried to kill him, he’d be a lot more willing to return. You’re lucky I’m willing to help you.”

As Anti stuck his tongue out, Dark disappeared from the kitchen and melded into the shadows. Throwing the remnants of his Pop-Tart at his head as he disappeared, Anti hopped off the side and wandered through the house back to the computer. He needed a plan, a backup in case whatever Dark came up with failed.

This was going to be a lot more difficult than he first thought.

\--

By the time Mark and Amy finally returned, a tired Chica trailing behind them, Ethan, Tyler and Kathryn were gathered there. They were talking quietly when they first walked in, and went silent when Mark entered the room. Subconsciously he brought his hand up to hide the bruises on his neck, but Amy caught his hand in her own and coaxed him to relax. None of his friends were going to judge him, and Mark knew it, but he just felt exposed with his wounds on show.

“Hey Mark.” Ethan greeted him first, shifting to make room on the couch so they would all have a seat. Amy slotted in beside him and Kathryn and Mark perched on the coffee table instead, so he was in a good position to talk to them all.

He had come to a decision after all.

“I explained what happened,” Ethan continued, “Thought you might appreciate me saving you a bit of time.”

“Yeah, thanks Ethan.” Mark smiled, scratching Chica’s ears as she came and lay at his feet, exhausted from a full afternoon of running around. “So, you know now there’s another demon?”

Tyler and Kathryn nodded. Mark took a moment to examine their expressions and try to read their feelings. Kathryn had a passive look on her face, but she was clearly worried about what had happened to him the night before, and what was to come. Tyler did not look impressed, but he was keeping a good check on his emotions so far, which Mark was glad for. This was going to be hard enough to explain without his friends trying to discourage him.

“I don’t have the means to move again, and I did some checking while we were out and it’ll take a lot more to get out of the contract on that house then is worth it.” He explained slowly, “So, I’m going to stay there.”

Ethan and Tyler both opened their mouths to protest, but Mark held up a hand and they bit their tongues and stayed silent.

“On one condition, and if that isn’t possible, I’ll have to come up with another solution.” Mark continued, “Amy suggested that maybe we get someone to look at the house. An exorcist.”

Amy nodded. Mark’s tone told everyone gathered there that he didn’t think it would work, and that he was a little perturbed getting someone else involved in the situation, but he wasn’t going to argue. He wasn’t a fool, he knew it wasn’t safe to return without getting professional help. It didn’t help that Amy could be persuasive when she wanted to be. Anti’s words had continued to weigh heavily on him despite all he tried to do to relax while they were out. There was no way of stopping him from going back, so the only thing they could do was try to make the house as safe as possible for his return.

“How do you even get in contact with an exorcist?” Tyler voiced the question they were all thinking.

“I have no idea.” Mark admitted, “So google is probably my best bet in terms of finding an answer, though how serious those answers will be is yet to be seen.”

“And then you can safely return to the house.” Amy added on.

Mark nodded.

A tense silence filled the air.

“If I may have an input, since I believe you were going to ask for my advice before?”

\--

Dark’s voice filled the room as the demon appeared behind Mark suddenly. He ignored everyone in the room except Mark as he took a seat on the coffee table next to him, perfectly poised. Everyone jumped in surprise, except for Mark.

“I didn’t think you’d appreciate the question.” He muttered.

“Without context, I wouldn’t have.” Dark confirmed, “But knowing that you’re talking about Anti, I expected it. And I can point you in the right direction.”

“What’s the catch?” Tyler demanded, immediately suspicious of the demon.

“I’m a demon.” Dark replied evenly, gaze flicking to Tyler before settling back on Mark. “Surely you understand it’s important for me to know what dangers I might face from certain people. Besides, Anti has been revealing interesting information to me.”

“You’ve been speaking to him?!” Mark exclaimed, “Why?”

Dark fought the urge to roll his eyes, shrugging instead. It was such a casual movement and so evidently copied from Mark’s mannerisms that it was unnerving. Mark swallowed the feeling down and glared at the demon, silently demanding an answer.

“As I told you, Anti and I know each other.” Dark finally said, “It’s…not pleasant to catch up with him specifically, but it is nice to meet another demon after so long.”

“Are you working for him?” Tyler asked.

The expression on Dark’s face was murderous, and only there for a second before his passive expression descended again. “I don’t work for anyone.” He said tightly. “No, Anti just has loose lips. He revealed to me how he came to be stuck in that house, and that information is imperative to you in getting rid of him if you choose the path of an exorcist. But, if you’re going to be so…rude and suspicious, perhaps I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“He didn’t mean it literally.” Mark said quickly, “More like, are you working with him.”

Tyler nodded in confirmation. “Besides, if I had to give my opinion, I’d say we listen to what you have to say, and then decide how useful it is.”

Mark glanced at Amy, Ethan and Kathryn, silently asking for their input as well.

“Tyler’s right.” Ethan said slowly, “I mean…he’s probably going to find a way to tell you anyway Mark, whether we’re here or not. May as well listen to it as a group, and then we can help you make a decision how you use it.”

“And if he’s lying to any of us, it should be easy to debunk it with all of us here.” Kathryn added.

Dark smiled at her mockingly, but she didn’t rise to it and merely stared the demon down.

“As if I’d lie about something so important.” He said, putting his hand over his heart.

“Stop it.” Mark cut in before anyone else could speak. He was tired, too tired for the time of day it was and the phantom feeling of hands around his throat still hadn’t faded. It didn’t help that his throat was beginning to hurt from all the speaking he had been doing. Anti had done some damage. And under it all there was a niggling anxiety in the back of his mind that he hadn’t finished editing videos and there hadn’t been anything uploaded onto the channel. Dark’s presence was not helping.

“We still have to hear from Amy.” Was all Dark said in response, but he moved his arm and placed both his hands into his lap.

Amy was chewing her lower lip as everyone spoke around her, thinking carefully about Dark’s words. “Let’s listen to him.” She finally said, “Manipulative as he is, as you’ve said before Mark, he can’t endanger you. Whether his information is a lie or not, it won’t be something that will put you intentionally at risk.”

“Alright, so we’re in agreement that he tells me?” Mark asked.

Everyone nodded.

Dark rolled his neck and smiled. “The most important thing you need to know is that Anti told me he was trapped in that house by a demon hunter called Elise.”

“That’s it?” Tyler scoffed when Dark paused

The demon side-eyed him without a word as Mark shook his head. “There’s more Tyler, he just likes being dramatic.”

Tyler and Mark swapped a slightly exasperated look as Dark repositioned himself on the coffee table before continuing.

“If you interrupt again, I might just forget one important detail.” He warned calmly, “Among the demonic community, demon hunters are well known and well documents so we know what areas to avoid. Elise, when she was alive, was the best of the best. She became a demon hunter rather late in life, but before she did there was always an affinity in her for sensing our presence. After she lost a close family member to a demon, she decided she would turn to hunting us and making us suffer in return.”

As he explained the details of Elise’s life, Dark had an almost fond look on his face. It wasn’t something Mark had ever seen before on his face, and it sat uncomfortably with him.

Dark sighed as he continued, “She was a formidable opponent, and as far as I remember she was still hunting up until her death two years ago. Anti didn’t tell me how long he’s been in that house, but he’s clearly been there a good number of years, and despite appearance he is quite a strong demon. Elise would have had to be in her prime when she took him on, or she would have failed.” Dark paused again and stretched, his pointed ears twitching slightly as he did. He had the rapt attention of everyone in the room, and barely supressed a smirk at the knowledge.   
“The Bowman family lived in that house twenty years ago, and Anti was already stuck there since he tried to use them to escape. Elise would have been seventy-two when the Bowman attack happened.”

“Would she have been too old to take on Anti then?” Mark asked.

Seemingly unbothered by this interruption, Dark shook his head. “No. As I said, she became a hunter later in life. Her prime was between the ages of fifty-nine and seventy-seven. After that she sustained injuries from hunting and had to take a backseat with more…enthusiastic demons. Anti definitely falls into that category. So, there’s a thirteen-year period between the start of her prime and the Bowman family accident.”

“Anti really has been stuck for a while then. No wonder he’s sick of that house.” Mark murmured.

“It would be enough to drive anyone insane.” Dark agreed, “Now, I imagine you’re wondering why knowing of Elise is important?”

Ethan, Amy and Kathryn nodded. Tyler and Mark merely exchanged another look. Dark was enjoying having such a captive audience, especially of people that he knew either disliked him or didn’t trust him. It was unnerving how well he could enthral them all.

“Elise has a granddaughter.” Dark said simply.

“Did she follow in her grandmother’s footsteps?” Ethan chipped in hopefully.

“Correct.” Dark smirked. “She’s not as good by a long shot, not as powerful, and it’s not her full-time job, but if anyone is going to be able to exorcise Anti from that house, it will have to be a relative of Elise. It’s a powerful ritual that holds a demon in one place for this length of time, not just anyone can break that.”

The air was thick with excitement when Dark finished, a sense that they were close to actually solving the problem for Mark.

“How do we contact her?!” He asked quickly. A bubble of hope was rising in his chest that this was going to work, and that Dark’s information was actually going to be useful. All thoughts of conferring to decide whether to use it had fled from his mind, this was the break he needed.

“Figure that out for yourself.” Dark muttered, “Now, I’ll leave you alone to discuss what I’ve said.”

He vanished as soon as the words left his lips.

Without waiting, Mark grabbed his laptop from behind him and googled Elise’s first name and then ‘demon hunter’ since Dark hadn’t provided a surname. Considering the simplistic search, Mark was surprised by the amount of results for that one search, and the amount of news stories trying to debunk the cases that Elise had worked. Ignoring the fact that to the majority of the world demons and paranormal activity were just stories, Mark read all the articles he could hungrily. The picture that began to build of Elise in his mind really made him think her granddaughter could help them.

Amy placed a hand on his arm and broke his attention from the screen. His friends were all looking at him in various states of concern.

“Do you think we should listen to him?” Amy asked. “You’re jumping onto his lead quickly.”

“Well…you did suggest we ask Dark?” Mark pointed out softly, “And he gave us the most viable information we could have hoped for. If we go to Elise’s granddaughter and she tells us to piss off, we’ve tried something. And then, we’ll just have to find someone else.”

They didn’t look convinced. Mark bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from trying to convince them.

“You’ve known Dark longer than any of us.” Kathryn eventually said as she shifted in her seat. “Does it feel like he’s trying to manipulate us?”

“I guess?” Mark replied, unsure of the true answer himself. “I don’t think he’s doing it in the wrong direction though. He wants his own space again, since he’s not as free here as he is when I live alone.”

“And like Mark said, if it’s a bust, we can try something else.” Tyler repeated, “But I say we at least give it a go. Even if we disagree, Mark’s probably going to try it. We need to stick with him through this.”

Amy nodded, “Okay, let’s see if we can find her.”

“Not today.” Mark protested, “I need to finish videos and sleep and rest my voice.”

“Well, you edit and we’ll gather information.” Amy suggested, “Once we’ve got all we need, we can do it whenever you want.”

“Alright.” Mark agreed.

“I’ve got some editing to do myself.” Ethan put in, “So I’ll need to go and get that done.”

“I’ll help Amy investigate.” Kathryn volunteered.

Tyler nodded, “Me too.”

Mark couldn’t help but smile. They were going to do this. They were going to get rid of Anti and he was going to have his house back. It may not be demon free, but it’d be better than when he first moved in.

 

\--

Finding Elise’s granddaughter didn’t actually prove too difficult, with some clever googling from Amy, Kathryn and Tyler. She had a website dedicated to her profession as a demon hunter, with contact information and the sort of things that she was trained to do. They wrote down all the information they needed, leaving Mark to edit and upload his videos in relative peace.

It took a couple of days for Mark to decide on a plan when they presented him with what they had found. He was a bit apprehensive about meeting the granddaughter – who they discovered was called Eloise – since Dark’s presence would be with him and she would sense it. Amy agreed that she might not agree to help him exorcise the house if she knew he was already possessed by a demon.

Eventually, Ethan suggested that he and Amy go and meet Eloise, if it came to a face-to-face meeting. Amy knew the details as she had seen Mark after the attack, and had been present for the Skype call, and Ethan could just be there for extra support. Mark agreed that this was probably the best plan, and called Eloise.

_“Mark Fischbach, I’ve been waiting for you to get in touch,”_

Mark nearly dropped his phone at the greeting from Eloise, his mouth opening and closing in shock.

Eloise laughter came down the phone, _“Relax Mark, I’m not psychic. I’ve just been speaking to the demon attached to you. Goes by the name of Dark, falsely charming and dangerous? He let me know you’d need my help.”_

“Dark…has been speaking to you?” Mark could barely process the words enough to get a coherent sentence out, nearly tripping over his words, but Eloise seemed to predict his question.

“ _Dark is a strange one. He has a hand everywhere, even with the more…accomplished hunters. It helps keep them off his trail and allow him all the freedom he wants. Be careful around him, Mark. Now, tell me about this other demon.”_

“Right. Okay. He’s called Anti, he was trapped inside the house I just moved into by your grandmother, Elise, quite a few years ago. I um…was hoping you could come and have a look and maybe get rid of him?” Mark explained slowly.

“ _Has he tried to hurt you?”_

“He choked me.” Mark confirmed, “The first time I saw him, he came out of my computer and tried to possess me but it didn’t work.”

“ _Yes, Dark will have taken issue with that.”_ Eloise sounded thoughtful, and there was the sound of her writing things down quickly coming through the phone.

Mark tapped his foot nervously.

“ _I can certainly come and assess the house.”_ She finally confirmed, “ _But I can’t guarantee I will be able to get rid of Anti. I need to find out what my grandmother used to trap him there so I can undo it, so there will be some research before I actually attempt the exorcism. Do you have a safe place to stay?”_

“Yeah,” Mark nodded despite Eloise not being able to see him, “For now anyway. So…should I come?”

“ _No, please stay away. Dark’s presence will only interfere with any readings I take from the house. Take my email address Mark and send me all the details. I’ll do some research on the house and we can book an appointment for me to come and see it.”_

“How much is this going to cost?” Mark asked quietly as he sought around him for a pen and paper.

Eloise chuckled, _“Don’t worry about the cost.”_

“But-.”

“ _Believe me Mark, it’s been sorted. Dark has offered me something extremely interesting in the form of payment.”_ She interrupted him softly, “ _So, no payment necessary.”_

Mark swallowed. This didn’t sound good. Why was she so comfortable around Dark? And what did he have that could be so interesting to her that it would negate any payment she may have asked for. Was she in cahouts with Dark and was going to do something worse to the house? Or was there something Mark wasn’t aware of between them? He didn’t have enough information to make a clear decision, he needed to ask Dark.

“ _Mark, did you get that?”_ Eloise’s voice brought him back to reality and he nearly dropped his phone again.

“Oh, no, sorry.”

Grabbing the closest pen, Mark scribbled down the email address and promised he’d send her all the information he had on the house before putting the phone down. Letting his head fall into his hands, he ignored the sound of the door opening.

“Mark?”

Amy was standing in the doorway, having come in when she heard Mark stop talking.

“Dark knows this demon hunter.” Mark whispered, “He told her we’d be calling, and he’s promised her something in lieu of payment. I have a bad feeling about this Amy.”

She crossed to the bed and settled down onto the bed, wrapping her arms around him and letting him lean against his chest. “You really need a break after all of this.”

Mark chuckled. “I’m never going to have a break from this. But…I knew sort of what I was getting into when I made my first deal with Dark…I just have a such a bad feeling about the decision I’ve made.”

“It’ll be okay Mark.” Amy said confidently, “We’re all here for you. Come on, get some more rest, your throat is still irritated and this has to be taking its toll on you. Do you want me to sort of Eloise?”

“Please.” Mark nodded, “She needs all the information I have on the house emailing to her, and she’s going to book an appointment to assess the house. I can’t go so…”

“Ethan and I will handle it. Tyler’s going to stay with you and make sure you’re okay while we’re out.” Amy murmured, “We’ve already planned it all Mark. Just relax and put it out of your head if you can. We’re going to help you and handle this.”

He hugged her even tighter at those words, entire body relaxing as she gently stroked her fingers through his hair. He was so tired, so strained…and he really wanted to ask Dark how he knew Eloise and what he was giving her, but the demon was nowhere around. Amy was right, he needed rest and relaxation away from all of this drama, otherwise he would only get worse.

She hugged him until he was dozing against her. Amy smiled fondly, and gently lay him back against the pillows of the bed. Mark mumbled something but didn’t properly wake, allowing her to position him comfortable before taking the email address and leaving the room to get this sorted out.

In the dim light of the room Mark’s bruises still shined and Amy glared at them.

Anti was going to pay for this.

\--

“He’s going to hire a demon hunter.”

Dark announced his presence with a whisper that carried around the room, making Anti jump at the suddenness. He was sitting in the living room watching TV, the only thing he could really do to stave off any boredom since he wasn’t entirely interested in the video games on Mark’s computer. At Dark’s arrival, he muted the TV and turned to glare at the demon.

“What?” He demanded. “Why?!”

“At the behest of his sweetheart, and friends, to make this house safe again to live in.” Dark replied as if it were obvious.

Anti scoffed at the way Dark spoke and shifted back onto the couch so there was room for the other demon. Dark perched on the edge, clearly uninterested in staying too long.

“Do they actually believe this will work?” Anti asked, caught between laughing and cursing. He was angry that Mark would even agree to such a thing, considering the experience he already had living with a demon. What was one more? Sure, Anti had tried to choke him, but Dark had probably done bad things as well…and now this. It was laughable, but also a hint of a threat.

“They do now,” Dark nodded, his eyes fixed on Anti. “I told them about Elise and Eloise.”

Without warning Anti leapt at him, sending them both tumbling to the floor with him on top of Dark. The red-eyed demon didn’t make a fuss, merely lay there under Anti as the glitching demon’s eyes turned fully black and his teeth grew to needle points.

“Why?!” He snapped.

“To help.” Dark replied simply. “They believe that Eloise can cast you out.”

“She’s the granddaughter of that woman…that Elise.” Anti spat, “She may have the power to do so.”

Dark smirked, “She’s not that powerful Anti. Believe me, I’m well acquainted with Eloise, as she nearly came down a darker path, and I know her strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn’t have suggested her if she would have truly been able to exorcise you.”

His words had the desired effect and Anti calmed a little, his body no longer wildly glitching, but he still wasn’t happy.

“So, what is the point?!” He muttered, knees pressing into Dark’s hips.

“If a demon hunter comes in and works her magic on the place, Mark will move back in. So, you need to make them believe that she managed to exorcise you from the house.” Dark spoke with the tone of someone speaking to a child and Anti dug his sharp nails into his shoulders in annoyance. Dark barely flinched.  
“It should be simple.”

“You want me to fake an exorcism from this house?” The green-haired demon asked to clarify, “And if I do Mark will return?”

“He won’t leave this house to anyone else.” Dark nodded, “Your words got to him, he doesn’t want anyone else moving in unless he can deal with the problem himself. So, he’s going to give it his best shot. Eloise isn’t strong enough Anti, you’ll have to trust me on that, but you need to make them think she is.”

“And then what?” Anti inquired, “Pretend that I don’t live in the house anymore? Never reveal my presence to Mark ever again? What’s your brilliant plan to make it so Mark will stay when he knows I’m not gone?”

Dark smirked. “I was getting to that. You have two choices, Anti. Lay low, allow him to settle and then return in a less violent way so that he can be convinced that living with you wouldn’t be so bad. Or, you lay low until Jack comes to visit and take possession of him.”

Anti didn’t look convinced that it would work, but he moved off Dark and allowed him up from the floor. Dark dusted himself off and rolled his shoulders, feeling at the points where Anti’s nails had dug into his skin.

“You’re sure this will work?”

“Of course.” Dark said evenly, “It’s my plan after all and my plans don’t tend to fail. But then again, it’s all going to be down to your performance, Anti. Can you fake the exorcism well enough, and will you be able to lay low long enough to not be stuck back in this position again?”

“I don’t have a choice.” Anti shrugged, “I don’t have a plan, and as much as I hate to admit it, I have to rely on you. But you better get that Irish guy here soon Dark or I will not make your existence happy.”

The smile that graced Dark’s lip at Anti’s agreement to the plan sent a chill through the demon, although he couldn’t place his finger on why. The grey-skinned demon pushed his hair out of his face and rolled his neck before speaking again.

“I wouldn’t dream of giving you a plan that wouldn’t work.”

As he went to disappear into the shadows and leave Anti alone, the green-eyed demon called his name.

“Tell me one more thing.” Anti requested.

Dark’s head turned slightly to look at him.

“Are you trying to manipulate me the same way you’re manipulating Eloise and your host?” Anti demanded.

The smile only grew wider at the question, and Dark put a hand on his heart. “Oh Anti, don’t you know me better than that?” And with that, he was gone.

Anti narrowed his eyes at the corner where Dark had stood, chewing the inside of his cheek. “I thought I did.” He muttered to himself before flopping onto the couch and unmuting the TV.


	5. Light at the end of the Tunnel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Sorry it's been a while since I posted for this fic, but I'm hoping to pick up production of it now xD this chapter is sort of a filler chapter because I want to write about Jack's visit and Anti's attempted possession all in one chapter and I decided to make it a chapter of it's own!
> 
> it should be coming soon, so please look forward to it!

 

The performance had been exquisite on all parts.

Eloise had played it perfectly, as well as Dark had expected her too considering she truly believed she was going to be making a difference. She had researched the house, kept in touch with Amy so the information could be passed on to Mark and then finally decided to confront Anti himself.

To his credit, Anti had been wonderful as well, patiently waiting for Eloise to come to the house and ready to play his part.

The only hitch was that Eloise was slightly stronger than Dark had said she was, and Anti felt the pull of her words, even if they had been easy to resist. Amy and Ethan had witnessed the exorcism, and unbeknownst to anyone Dark had been watching too. It had been a spectacle, with Anti using his full power to truly terrify them all before he disappeared. Eloise had confirmed he was gone, prompting Amy and Ethan to cheer and hug.

And that was that.

Mark had been close to tears with relief and the slow process of him moving back in had begun.

Suspicions and tensions were running high for the entire time, which Dark had counted on. He had flooded the house with his aura, as Amy had been convinced that if Anti was still around Chica would refuse to enter. Since she sensed Dark and not Anti the dog entered without a hitch, and Amy calmed down.

As did Mark.

He still had nightmares of waking with Anti’s hands wrapped around his throat, and Dark would watch him as he tossed and turned. Eventually he would settle, and that was going to be the most dangerous part of the plan. Anti would not be content to sit around for long, but everything rested on Dark getting Jack to visit.

And that was hard.

With no cons around the corner, getting Jack to travel to LA was not going to be easy, and since Dark couldn’t just travel to England and manipulate the Irishman, he had to think of other methods. Manipulating Mark into wanting Jack there would be easy, but whether or not the Youtuber had the pull to actually convince Jack to come was something Dark wasn’t entirely sure of. Since everything else had been planned to perfection, he wanted to make sure that this part of the plan was the same, and Mark was too unpredictable to count on.

But, if he was honest with himself, Dark had planned for every possibility. If Mark failed to get Jack to come to LA and Anti revealed himself and everything came crashing down, Dark had put things in place to cover him. Overselling Eloise’s power and his connection to her had been easy, he was a demon and she a hunter, it was understandable he would be wary of her. If Anti did reappear, it would be down to Eloise’s failure more than Dark suggesting they use her, since she had confirmed that Anti was gone. Dark would be in the clear, but Anti would have screwed himself over and if he thought Dark was going to help him again, well, he had a second thing coming.

-

Late at night, four weeks after Mark had moved back into the house, Dark broached the subject of Jack easily. Mark was editing a collab video between him and Jack, which made it easier, and Dark was sitting in the room with him, reading and drinking tea.

“Do you miss him?” He asked.

Glancing over at him, Mark raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

Dark nodded at the computer screen and the edit Mark had open.

Shrugging, Mark went back to editing as he spoke, “I guess I do? I mean, I get to see him every now and then, and we Skype and play games so we’re still close, but it would be nice to get to see him outside of cons and stuff.”

“His fans have been calling for him to take a holiday, since he pushes himself so hard. Maybe you can suggest it?” Dark murmured.

It wasn’t a lie and Mark knew it too. Jack worked incredibly hard to continue his uploading schedule as he had for the last five years he had been on Youtube, and the Irishman never took a break, even when he was travelling for cons.

“He’s never gonna take a break,” Mark laughed, “He’s too dedicated. Besides, as long as his actual health isn’t being affected by it, I don’t see how it’s a problem.”

Allowing silence to fall between them, Dark went back to his book and Mark went back to editing, thinking nothing of the conversation between them. The idea had been planted now, and Dark was sure it would only be a matter of time before Mark brought up the idea of Jack visiting LA to the man himself. And if Jack argued about not wanting to take a break well, Dark hoped Mark could handle that rebuttal. It wasn’t down to him anymore, but to his host, and Dark would just have to wait and see if Mark truly had it in him to manipulate his friend without even realising it.

“Is that all you’re doing?”

Anti appeared in the kitchen as Dark left Mark to his editing, whining about Dark’s effort and grabbing a Pop-Tart. “You’ve barely done anything.”

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Dark scoffed, “This entire operation has been my plan, so I think I’ve gone above and beyond what I actually had to do for you. Besides, whether or not Jack comes to LA soon is beyond my control. If you’re actually patient Anti, it will happen eventually. I know that’s a hard concept for you but-.”

The green-haired demon disappeared before Dark could finish, and not a moment too soon as Mark wandered into the kitchen for food. The Pop-Tart the demon had been cooking was done as Mark entered, and Dark shrugged when Mark asked if he could have it. He was distracted, and annoyed. Anti was getting less and less happy to stay hidden, and with freedom so close, it was getting harder for him to keep control. All they needed was for Jack to come and the plan would be finished. If Anti had actually approached Mark in a less violent way this wouldn’t have happened in the first place, and the demon was grating on Dark’s nerves the more antsy he got

Mark didn’t notice that Dark was on edge, disappearing from the kitchen with the Pop-Tart in tow and Dark stayed where he was, sitting at the table and drinking coffee.

Three days after planting the seed of getting Jack to come and visit into Mark’s head, he broached the subject with Jack himself during a Skype call. Dark was lingering in the shadows in the background listening, hoping that he wouldn’t have to step in and use some of his manipulative powers to bolster Mark’s words. Of course, Jack wasn’t convinced straight away, but Mark made a good argument about how he didn’t have to see it as a break, just an opportunity to make some different content for his channel. Dark was impressed, and proud, and could sense the end of the plan coming closer.

Signe helped.

Dark had never really had an opinion on Jack’s girlfriend until now. Her mentality matched Jack’s but she was a caring person and she agreed that a small “break” would be good for them. It was good to get away sometimes and “refresh that creative brain”. And so, after two weeks of Mark arguing with Jack about it, the other Youtuber began to prepare videos for the trip.

When Dark broke the news to Anti, the glitching it elicited very nearly gave the entire plan away as it spread through the house, prompting Dark to smack him to calm him down.

“Don’t blow this now.” He hissed, “Careful planning has gone into this.”

Anti growled, eyes growing fully black in anger, but he listened and faded back into the walls of the house. Dark was sitting in his room alone when Mark entered, looking a little sheepish.

“Hey Dark, I need you to keep a low profile when Jack comes by okay?” He requested, “I mean, he knows about you but it can be a little awkward y’know?”

“I’ll keep my distance.” Dark promised, not looking up from his book.

Mark took that as his cue to leave and shut the door behind him.

Anti reappeared again.

“Do you have the schedule of their trip?” He asked, settling on Dark’s bed and stretching.

“They haven’t really made it themselves yet.” Dark replied quietly, “I know that Jack will be coming by here when they first arrive since it’s a new house and he wants a tour, and they will be recording some stuff here. Don’t worry Anti, I’ve got a plan.”

“Another one.” Anti scoffed, “Part of me thinks you enjoy doing this.”

“Structure is important.” Dark said off-handedly, “It’s been a while since I was able to fully flex like this. Now, do you want to hear it or not?”

“I hope this is the last of your plans I ever have to listen to.” Anti grumbled, staring at Dark as the demon placed his book aside and held out his hand.

“Dance with me, like old times.” Dark requested softly, his red eyes glinting with something much softer than seemed possible.

While he was tempted to say no, Anti took Dark’s hand and allowed the demon to pull him from the bed and into dancing position, one hand on his waist and the other gripping Anti’s hand. They swayed to no music, although both of them could hear the beat in their head well enough, a song they had danced to many times during their lives together, and although Anti had forgotten some of the steps, Dark led him through the dance smoothly, talking as he did.

“Jack and Signe mentioned staying in a hotel.” He began, dipping Anti lightly, his black hair tickling Anti’s cheek as he bent with him. “But Mark had already mentioned to Jack that if he came to LA, there were more than enough spare rooms here for him to stay, and he brought it back up again, without prompting. So, they will be staying here. Now,” Dark paused as Anti glitched in excitement and temporarily threw off their rhythm. “That doesn’t mean you can attack him straight away. If you do this too soon, you’ll mess up the plan Anti, because you’ll reveal to Mark you’re still around. Get him through his dreams, slowly at first and then on the last night is when you really want to go for it. I know you can do it, Anti, and Jack will most likely think it was all just a dream.”

“Until he gets back to Brighton and boom! There I am!” Anti cackled.

Dark shushed him quickly, pulling him close so Anti squeaked and fell silent.

“The only potential problem is that you’ve lost your touch.” He murmured, spinning them slowly and dipping Anti again. “Can you still possess someone as well as you used to?”

“Of course I can!” Anti snapped, “I’ve not lost my touch, you asshole.”

“Good.” Dark smirked. “So it should all go according to plan.”

Anti nodded.

Dark spun him once, before sinking to one knee and kissing his hand. The glitch stuck his tongue out, hiding the slight blush of his cheeks before disappearing back into the technology of the house. Dark took up his book again and went back to reading, quietly confident that this plan was going to play out perfectly, and soon, Mark would know the part he played too.

He couldn’t wait.


End file.
